Price and release date

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These latest pictures confirm that the new 2019 Audi A3 Sportback will get a striking new look that’s based on the Audi A1. The A3 will also get a brilliant infotainment system as standard and get the latest autonomous driving tech.

2019 Audi A3 Sportback price and release date

Despite the next A3 being an all-new model, don’t expect prices to go up – you’ll still be able to get a new A3 for around £21,000 when it goes on sale towards the end of this year, while the faster S3 will be closer to £35,000. Eventually, you’ll also be able to buy an RS3 model that has a five-cylinder engine and performance to keep a supercar honest, it’ll likely carry a price tag of more than £40,000.

2019 Audi A3 Sportback styling

What these latest spy pictures show the six-point honeycomb grille could have been taken straight from the front of an A1, and the smaller car’s huge air vents ahead of the front wheels also seem to have been carried over – though there’s plenty of camouflage to hide it. The most obvious change from A1 to A3 is the latter’s barbed headlights. They’ll likely use bright-white LEDs as standard with the option to upgrade to matrix LEDs – which you can use on full beam even in oncoming traffic.

Despite this test car’s heavy wrap, it’s easy to see that the new A3 will also be given the same boxed wheel arches you’ve have seen on new Audis – covering everything from the A1 to the Q8 – which is supposed to hint at the fact that you can have the car with four-wheel drive. Filling those wheel arches will be 16-inch alloy wheels on basic models and wheels up to 19-inches in size on the sporty S3 and RS3 cars.

Head around to the back of the car and you can expect to see LED tail lights that will light up in sequence when you lock and unlock the car. Basic models will get a plain bumper with a hidden exhaust while, as you can see from these photographs, S3 cars will get a rear diffuser-style bumper complete with four prominent exhaust pipes.

Given how customisable the A1 is, you can expect similar options to be offered on the A3. That’ll mean you can choose from mat paint finishes, coloured wheels and four-ring Audi decals.

2019 Audi A3 Sportback interior

Infotainment is likely to be the buzz word for the new 2019 Audi A3 Sportback and you can expect even basic models to get a full digital dashboard display behind the steering wheel that can display analogue style dials then flick to a full-sized map at the flick of a switch. It’ll be around 10 inches in size with the option to upgrade to a 12-inch screen. You’ll see a similar upgrade to the car’s central infotainment screen – it too will be at least 10-inches in size with crystal clear graphics.

There will be just as significant changes to the things you can’t see as to the things you can – expect the car’s voice activation system to be significantly improved and capable of understanding colloquial commands. It’ll take the place of the scroller selector between the front seats of the current A3. All models will come as standard with a three-year subscription to Audi Connect allowing the car’s sat-nav to route around congestion in real time and find you a parking space as you near your destination. Even parking will be easier, along with being able to park itself in parallel and perpendicular parking spaces – while high definition 360-degree cameras will make it an easy job if you prefer to park yourself.

The upgraded infotainment means you can expect the 2019 Audi A3 Sportback to have a cleaner cabin design that’s free from the clutter of conventional buttons. Build quality will be top notch with high-quality materials used in the majority of the cabin while you’ll be able to choose from shiny black plastic, metal and carbon-fibre style trim pieces – depending on which model you go for – and selectable ambient lighting will also be on the options list.

Interior space will increase compared to the current model, so you can expect your rear-seat passengers to get a smidgen more head and knee room, and you’ll get a larger boot capable of swallowing an extra soft bag.

2019 Audi A3 Sportback engines

The new 2019 Audi A3 Sportback is set to be offered with hybrid technology even on basic models. In fact, basic 1.0-litre cars are tipped to get an electric motor that provides a boost in power similar to the turbocharger fitted to the current model. Mid-range cars, meanwhile, fitted with the 1.5-lire petrol engine are likely to get a 48V power supply that’ll mean your A3 Sportback can travel for short periods on battery power alone, get an electrical boost to save fuel under acceleration and will be more efficient at replenishing their batteries under braking. Diesel models will also be offered and you can expect them to come dripping with catalytic converters and particulate filters designed to make them as clean as possible. Along with conventional engines, you can expect the A3 Sportback to be offered as an petrol-electric e-tron hybrid. It’ll deliver punchy performance but also be exempt from paying the London Congestion charge.

2019 Audi A3 Sportback S3

On the flipside, there’s always the S3 model spotted here with four exposed exhaust pipes. Along with a more aggressive body kit with big alloy wheels, larger brakes, redesigned bumpers and a smattering of S3 badges, it’s set to get a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine with around 325hp – getting the S3 from 0-62mph in under five seconds and on to a top speed limited to 155mph. The S3 will likely come with four-wheel drive and a dual-clutch automatic gearbox as standard.

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